Australian egg industry survey opens

Australians are being welcomed to share their thoughts about eggs as part of a large-scale study that will define the future of the egg industry.

The sustainability framework community survey, conducted by Voconiq (a company spun out from the CSIRO) for Australian Eggs, is being conducted for the fifth year running. It gives the egg industry a snapshot of the public’s opinions of the industry as well as its views on topics such as food security, biosecurity, traceability, animal welfare and the environmental impacts of egg processing.

Dr Kieren Moffat, Voconiq CEO, said that the research will build on the findings from previous years to understand how the community’s views and priorities have changed, as well as to give a good picture of the public’s trust in the industry.

“More than 33,000 Australians have contributed to this research program over the past four years, providing a deeper understanding on what the community values in and from the egg industry,” Moffat said.

“Sustainability is a major issue globally and it is important that the egg industry remains focused on how it fits into this growing movement. The research program has always been linked to the United Nations Sustainability Development Goals and in 2022 we will be working to draw these links out more explicitly in the context of egg production.

“We encourage Australians who want to have a voice on issues related to the egg industry to take part in the public open survey, as the data collected will be shared with Australian Eggs to shape their agenda and priorities over the coming years.”

Australian Eggs’ managing director Rowan McMonnies said that the insights produced by the study are important to the egg industry as they can be used to shape future plans.

“Each year, these survey results allow us to pause and see the industry through the community’s eyes. The results act as an indication as to what we need to consider internally, and then integrate into our industry plans,” McMonnies said.

“This year-on-year survey acts as an effective call and response between us as an industry and the public, continuing to drive transparency and trust which is demonstrated through the delivery of tangible outputs and solutions to significant issues like hen welfare, biosecurity, food safety and environmental sustainability.

“Just recently, we have supported UTS researchers in the development of a world-leading artificial intelligence-based system to monitor the movement and behaviour of cage-free hens to improve their health and welfare and minimise dangers.

“Further to this, we are continuing to work towards improving efficiencies and practices to move the industry towards carbon minimisation by way of our Sustainability Dashboard and improve farm biosecurity practices and food safety through our Biosecurity Virtual Reality Tool.

“The data output from the public’s participation in this survey is invaluable. It allows us to continue to meet and exceed the public’s standards of our industry year on year and align with industry standards globally.”

More information about the study on the Australian egg industry is available online.

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